Bed-spring fabric.



G. B. SMITH.

BED SPRING FABRIC. APPLICATION FILED lULY 22. 19'15- RENEWED OCT. 26. I9I6- 1,227,97 1 Patented May 29, 1917.

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Witnesses Inventor 9 i I Attorneys G. B. SMITH.

BED SPRING FABRIC.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 22. 1915. RENEWED OCT; 26;. me.

I 1,227,971 Patented May29,1917'.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

' "easy B. SMIJIH, or CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

BED-SPRING FABRIC.

Application filed July 22, 1915, Serial No. 41,293.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GARY B. SMITH, a citizen of the United States, residin at Chicago, in the county of Cook and tate of Illlnois, have invented a new and useful Bed-Spring Fabric, of which the following is a sp pcification.

The present invention appertains to a bed-spring fabric, and aims to provide a novel and improved device of that character which will not sag at or tend to roll the occupant or occupants to the center.

. It is an object of the invention to provide a bed-spring fabric, the component elements of which are assembled in a novel manner to prevent the displacement or detachment thereof, but to enable the elements to swing relative to one another when the fabric yields or is depressed.

Another object of the invention is the provision in a bed-spring fabric of means for allowing various portions of the fabric to yield or give irrespective of the other portions, whereby when a person is reclining upon one portion of the bed, the respective portion of the bed-spring fabric can yield without displacing or distorting the other portions of the fabric, which enables the tabs ric to sustain two persons without discomfiture to either.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a bed-spring fabric composed of longitudinal and cross chains assembled in a unique manner for the purposes above noted.

"With the foregoing and other objects in View which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention resides in the combination and arrangement of parts and in the details of construction hereinafter described and claimed, it being understood that changes in the precise embodiment of the invcntionherein disclosed can be made within the scope'of what is claimed without departing from the spiritof the invention.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein I Figure 1 is a fragmental plan view of the Figs. 2 and 3 are sectional views taken on the lines 2-2 and 3-3 of Fig. 1, res actively.

i .4 1s a sectional detail illustrating a modi cation. 0

Fig. 5 is an elevation or a portion of one Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 29, 1917. Renewed October as, 1516. Serial no. 127,964.

Fig. 10 is asectional view taken on the line 1010 of Fig. 9. p

In carrying out the invention, there are employed a suitable number of spaced parallel longitudinal chains or strands 1, each comprising a series of doubled Wire links 2 having eyes or loops 3 at their bends or bights, and. having their terminals bent back to provide hooks or loops 4 engaging the eyes or loops 3 of the adjacent or companion links, to flexibly connect the links. From the books 4 the terminal portions'extend along the body portions of. the links 2 toward the opposite ends, as at 5, and the terminals are then bent into approximately U-shape, as at 6, and the ends abut against the body portions of the links, as at 7. The terminals of the links are bent downwardly so as to lie below the body portions thereof, and the U-shaped portions 6 project downwardly or depend from the body portions and are spaced slightly from the bends of the hooks or eyes 4.

Assembled with the longitudinal chains 1, are a plurality of cross chains 8 disposed transversely of or at right angles with the chains 1, and each cross chain comprising a series of doubled wire links 9 having loops or eyes 10 at their bends or bights, and having their terminals bent back downwardly to provide hooks 11 engaging the loops 10 of the adjacent or companion links. The alternate hooks 11 are engaged with or embrace the links 2 and the reflexed or bent back portions 5 between the bendsor eyes 4 and the bends or portions 6. This serves to fasten the longitudinal and cross chains together with the bends of the respectivelinks 9 abutting against the chains 1' between the body portions of the links 2 and the reflexed portions 5.. Due to the fact that the respective hooks 11 embrace the links 2 between the eyes or bends 4 and the portions 6, the said hooks 11 are prevented from sliding longitudinally along the chains 1 to become separated from the reflexed terminals of the links 2, and in this manner the said books 11 have the oflice of securely fastening the refiexed terminals of the links 2 in place. This prevents the longitudinal or tensile strain which is applied to the chains or strands 1 from unbending the reflexed terminals of the links 2, which if it occurred would allow the links 2 to pull apart-thereby rupturing the fabric.- The cross chains 8 therefore not only serve to normally hold the chains 1 in proper spaced relation, but also effectively hold the links 2 assembled to prevent the accidental separation thereof. With this arrangement, furthermore, the links 2 may be constructed of wire of minimum gage or diameter, because even with wire of smaller gage, the reflexed ends of the links are not liable to be unbent.

The other links 9 which are located between the chains 1 have their bills bent against the body portions of the respective links 9 and provide elongated eyes or loops 12 receiving the bends or loops 10 of the other links 9. Each cross chain 8 has a pair of normally alining links 9 between each pair of chains 1, and ordinarily, each pair of links 9 are moved together to bring the bend of one link 9 at that end of the eye or loop 12 remote from the bends of the respective hooks 11. Consequently, the loose joints of the links 9 between the chains 1 allow said chains 1 to separate a limited amount, whereby the entire fabric may expand laterally a considerable distance. Thus, when the chains 1 are depressed at one portion of the bed, they may separate without drawing or pulling the remainder of the fabric out of shape, and this provides for the desirable feature of accommodating two or even more occupants reclining above the fabric without the discomfiture of either by the action of the fabric.

The links 9 at one side or edge of the fabric have their bends or loops 10 so formed as to embrace or surround the respective side chain 1, as indicated at 13 in Fig. 3. This provides means for attaching the respective ends of the chains 8 to the said side chain 1.

Fig. 4 illustrates a modification of the last-named feature, in that the terminal link 9 of the cross chain has its hooks 11' embracing the side chain 1, and has the loop 13' at its bight engaging the bight of the adjacent link 9. In other words, the link 9 is in a position reversed to that of the similar link in Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 illustrates how the cross chain is constructed prior to and for assemblage with the lon itudinal chains. Every other hook 11 is le open for engagement with the longitudinal chains, and the other hooks 11 are bent against the body portions of the links 9 to provide the eyes or loops 12.

In the modification depicted in Figs. 6, 7

and 8, the longitudinal chains or strands 1 are constructed similar to the chains 1 above described, each of the chains 14 embodying doubled wire links 15 having loops or eyes 16 at their bends or bights, and having their terminals refieXed downwardly to provide hooks or eyes 17 engaging the loops 16 of the adjacent or companion links 15. The hooks 17 are extended, as at 18, alon the body portions of the links 15 toward t e opposite ends thereof, and the terminals of the portions 18 are kinked or bent into U-shape to provide portions 19 projecting or depending from the body portions of the links 15, with the ends of the wires abutting against said g body portions, as at 20.

The cross chains 21 embody each a longitudinal series of doubled wire links 22 having their terminals bent back downwardly to provide hooks 23 engaging the bends of the companion links 22 and embracing the links 15 and the reflexed portions 18, between the eyes 17 and portions 19. This is of advantage for the reasons above intimated. Each chain 21 has but a single link 22 between each pair of chains 14, and the hooks 23 are bent completely and snugly around the links 15 and portions 18 thereof, to prevent the hooks 23 from being forced out of engagement from the links 15.

In the variations illustrated in Figs. 9 and 10, the longitudinal chains 24 embody each a series of doubled wire links 25 having the enlarged loops 26 at their bends or bights,

and having their terminals reflexed downwardly to provide hooks 27 engaging the loops 26 of the adjacent or companion links. The limbs of each link 25 are separated or bent apart adjacent the loop 26 to provide an enlarged loop 28 and a constricted portion 29 between the two loops.

The cross chains 30 each have a series of doubled wire links 31 having their terminals refiexed or bent back downwardly to provide hooks 32 engaging the bends of the companion links 31. Alternate hooks 32 embrace the constricted or reduced portions 29 of the links 25, and this attaches the longitudinal and cross chains together, and prevents the longitudinal displacement of the chains 30 relative to the chains 24. Those hooks 32 between the chains 24 provide elongated eyes or loops 33 slidably receiving the bends of the respective links 31, whereby the longitudinal chains can separate in the manner hereinbefore indicated.

Thepresent fabric prevents the sagging thereof at the center as is the case with most prevailing styles of bed-spring fabrics, and also eliminates the tendency of rolling the occupant or occupants to the center.

The longitudinal chains may also be shifted slightly toward or away from one another for accommodating the various spacing or numbers of end springs (not shown) by which said chains are usually attached to the frame.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

1. In a bed spring fabric, strands, and cross chains having means embracing said strands and having links slidably connected between said strands, all of the links of each cross chain being connected.

2. In a bed-spring fabric, strands, and cross chains embodying doubled wire links having their terminals reflexed to form hooks engaging the bends of the companion links, certain hooks of thechains embracing said strands and the others slidably receiv ing the bends of the respective links between said strands.

3. In a bed-spring fabric, chains embodying links having loops and reflexed portions engaging the loops of the companion links, and cross chains having their links engaged with the aforesaid links and reflexed portions.

4. In a bed-spring fabric, chains embodying links having loops and reflexed portions engaging the loops of the companion links, and cross chains having their links engaged with the aforesaid links and reflexed portions, the reflexed portions having portions to prevent the movement of the cross chain links oil of the same.

5. In a bed-spring fabric, chains embodying links having loops and reflexed portions engaging the loops of the companion links, and cross chains having hooks embracing the first-mentioned links and reflexed portions thereof, the reflexed portions having portions to prevent the movement of the cross a chain links ofi' of the same.

6. In a bed-spring fabric, longitudinal chains embodyin doubled wire links having reflexed termina s providing hooks engaging the bends of the companion links, and

cross chains embodying doubledwire links ing the bends of the companion links, andcross chains embodying doubled wire links having reflexed terminals providing hooks engaging the bends of the companion links and embracing the aforesaid links and. reflexed portions thereof, said reflexed terminals of the first-mentioned links having bent portions, and the hooks of the secondmentioned links being disposed between said bent portions and bends of the respective reflexed terminals.

8. In a bed-spring fabric, chains embodying links having loops and reflexed portions engaging the loops of the companion links, and cross chains having portions embracing the first mentioned links and reflexed portions thereof.

9. In a bed-spring fabric, chains embodying links having loops and reflexed portions engaging the loops of the companion links, and cross chains having portions embracing the first-mentioned links and reflexed portions thereof, the first-mentioned links having portions for preventing the said embracing portions from moving off of said reflexed portions.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto afiixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

GARY B. SMITH.

Gopiel of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

' Washington, D. G. 

